ALABAMA MORTGAGE EDITION
Every Player is Valuable: HOW TO BOOST YOUR TEAM'S MORALE When it's Time for a HOME OFFICE
COVER STORY
CHRIS SALTER
KEEPING IN TOUCH— How to Stay in Your Clients’ Lives for the Long Haul THINGS I HAVE LEARNED at the Gym
ALABAMA MORTGAGE EDITION
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CHRIS SALTER
CONTENTS 4) WHEN IT'S TIME FOR A HOME OFFICE
19) THINGS I HAVE LEARNED AT THE GYM
13) KEEPING IN TOUCH — HOW TO STAY IN YOUR CLIENTS’ LIVES FOR THE LONG HAUL
22) EVERY PLAYER IS VALUABLE: HOW TO BOOST YOUR TEAM'S MORALE
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When It’s Time for a Home Office by Nancy Michaels
So, you’re tired of clearing your papers off the dining room table every time someone wants to eat (how dare they!). And you’re still recovering from the business call you were forced to take that time your 5-yearold pressed the phone into your hand just as you stepped from the shower (it’s amazing how professional one can sound while wrapped in a towel and dripping wet).
fairly easily for this purpose. Use bookcases, filing cabinets, plants, screens, even lighting to define your work space. It’s essential that you remain committed to your space as office space. Without this psychological distinction between home and work, the two areas of your life may slide into one another, causing you to lose focus, and thus, productivity.
Sounds like it’s time for a home Choose furnishings that are ergooffice. nomically correct, and which fit in with the decor of the rest of your Ideally, you’ll have a spare room to home. Lighting should come from turn into office space—preferably three sources: natural, ambient and one with a locking door. An extra direct. Give yourself enough storage bedroom, the basement, or attic can space to keep your work area all serve this purpose. If you don’t uncluttered. You may want to store have room for a dedicated office, your supplies in another part of the take a look around your house to see house, keeping just a week’s worth where you can carve yourself some in your office. And schedule a space. A closet, bedroom corner, weekly or biweekly cleanup where hallway alcove or even the area you go through your papers and files under a stairway can all be converted and either throw away or stow away 4
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anything that is not essential to the event of a power failure. An daily operation of your business. uninterruptable power source supply is also a must for the home office. Almost every business requires a This will keep your computer runcomputer system. Don’t skimp. You ning during a power outage until want something with enough speed you’re able to safely shut it down. and memory capacity to last into the future. A good-quality inkjet, or Another essential component of the preferably, a laser printer is also home office is telecommunications, essential. Investigate the all-in-one meaning telephone, fax and Internet printer, fax, copier and scanners. access. An account through an These may save you money as well Internet service provider or online as precious office space. I also service shouldn’t cost more than $20 recommend a computer backup per month and it will give you the system, which will protect the ability to send and receive e-mail. contents of your hard drive in the Top Agent Magazine
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It’s essential that you remain committed to your space as office space. You’ll probably want more than one phone line, three if you’re using one line for a fax and modem hookup. It’s wise to invest in a business line, which allows you to list your business name and number in the phone book and with directory assistance. To keep costs down, use that line for incoming calls only. If you don’t want the expense of a business line, but can do without a repeat of the shower scene, order “distinct ring” service from your phone company. This is a separate phone number which rings into your home line, but sounds different from your normal ring. This alerts you and family members to incoming business calls. If you’re dishing up dinner or washing the dog, you’ll know to let your answering machine, or better yet, your electronic voice mail system, grab the call. If you’re in the shower, hopefully your 5year-old will know to do the same. You may also want to order “call 6
answering” from your phone company. It’s just a few dollars a month and sounds more professional than an answering machine, and which won’t break down while you’re on vacation. A home office can either improve productivity, or harm it. You may find yourself doing paperwork at 2 a.m. when you should be sleeping, or flipping to General Hospital at 3 p.m. when you should be working. It’s helpful to treat your home office as you would an outside office, complete with “starting” and “quitting” times. This will help you stay focused, organized, and productive. And your family will appreciate having their dining room table back. Nancy Michaels, of Impression Impact, works with companies that want to reach the small business community and with small business owners who want to sell more products and services. Copyright©, Nancy Michaels. All rights reserved. Top Agent Magazine
CHRIS SALTER
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Chris Salter is President of SMG Mortgage, licensed in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
bama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, with offices spanning across his home state of Alabama.
Fresh out of college, Chris Salter joined the mortgage world first as a loan officer, working at a national company and learning the ins and outs of the industry. Growing up with a family active in real estate, Chris already enjoyed an inside track on the real estate business, and after a few years working as an account executive at a range of offices, gaining more and more insight into his work, he decided to start his own mortgage enterprise back in 2007. Today, he is the President of SMG Mortgage, an outfit licensed in Ala8 Copyright Top Agent Magazine
Chris leads a deftly curated and tightknit team of professionals based in SMG’s corporate office in Birmingham. SMG runs the gamut in terms of loan offerings, from FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional loans to commercial and construction loans, reverse mortgages, and portfolio lending options, as well. “We stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new loan products,” Chris says, even citing a new 1% conventional down payment program offered by his office. As the second-highest originator of loans by volume in the central Alabama region, in addition to being among the top six in the state overall, the range and efficiency of services offered by Chris and his team are among the area’s finest. Top Agent Magazine
With business driven mostly by referrals, Chris’s team can focus on providing superior service to clients rather than spend an inordinate amount of time generating new leads. To that end, quality client relationships are integral to Chris and his team’s professional philosophy. “What it comes down to is client service and reliability,” he recounts. “We keep our clients in the loop and we stay in it together. We approach our relationship with the realtors we work with as a partnership.” Harkening back to his days as a successful account executive, Chris nurtures long-lasting relationships with clients and realtors across the state, Top Agent Magazine
amounting to a masterful network of professionals easily tapped into. What’s more, with over a decade of experience in a leadership role in his industry, Chris has an expert’s insight into a competitive and complex market. To keep in touch with clients past and potential, and to continue to build strong ties within the community, Chris and his team make it a habit to stay involved with local happenings, from attending luncheons to contributing to the charitable efforts of real estate agencies they work with. “The realtors that work with us trust us,” Chris Copyright Top Agent Magazine 9
explains. “Because of our reputation, they’re confident that we’ll get the deal closed, and if any issues should arise, we always keep them informed and come to them with solutions.” Chris and many of the agents on his team have fostered professional relationships with individual clients and real estate agents for years, astutely recognizing that people are at the heart of every transaction. In fact, it is his impactful work with buyers that Chris finds most satisfying about this work. “Going to a closing and witnessing the excitement of first-time homebuyers as they get into their house—it’s a really fun and rewarding part of my job,” Chris says. Copyright Top Agent Magazine 10Copyright
Extending his spirited work to his local community, Chris is active in multiple charitable and civic organizations, including as a member of the Alabama Mortgage Professionals Association, where he previously served on the board and remains active today. Likewise, Chris makes it a point to attend and contribute to the local Chamber of Commerce’s meetings and events, in addition to partaking in local realtor functions and fundraisers, as well as giving to area schools. In his free time, Chris is kept busy by his three kids, but enjoys spending summer days at the lake with his wife and family. As for the future, Chris has plans to open a fourth office Top Agent Magazine
“Going to a closing and witnessing the excitement of first-time homebuyers as they get into their house—it’s a really fun and rewarding part of my job.” in the year to come, expanding his imprint across the state. By year’s end he also has ambitions to become licensed to lend in nearby Florida and hire more originators for his Alabama offices. Having earned more than a decade of experience in the mortgage industry—from Top Agent Magazine
multiple angles and positions of leadership—Chris’s proactive and client-centered approach to his work is the driving force behind SMG’s success. With an ethos assuredly fixed on delivering results and the well-being of his clients, the years to come are sure to be busy and bright for Chris Salter and his team at SMG Mortgage. Copyright Top Agent Magazine11
To learn more about CHRIS SALTER visit SMGMortgage.com, e-mail chris@smgmortgage.com, or call (205) 983 - LOAN www.
http://www.justingrable.com
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HOW TO STAY IN YOUR CLIENTS’ LIVES FOR THE LONG HAUL
One sign of a great real estate agent is there long list of loyal client following. Part of achieving a great referral base is being a great realtor during the transaction. But, that’s only half of the work. To truly be your client’s realtor for life and keep them coming back to you as well as referring others to you, you have to stay in their lives past the transaction. Keeping in touch with your past clients can be one of the most important parts of your business, and one that many realtors tend to push to the wayside. Do you stay in your client’s lives, or do you disappear? People refer people that they feel they know well and that they trust, people they consider friends. However, earning and keeping your client’s trust involves maintaining a delicate balance with how much you contact them. Experts recommend reaching out to your clients at least quarterly. But, it’s not just about how often you stay in touch. You also need to be mindful about how you are reaching out to them. Here are some tips on how to keep in touch with your clients for the long haul: Top Agent Magazine
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INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL CONTACT One of the best ways to keep in touch with your clients is to simply give them a call every once in a while. Follow up and see how your clients are doing. Offer them assistance if they need it. Personalized contact helps to ensure that you remain as important to your clients long after the sale as you were during the transaction. Giving your clients a call on special occasions such as birthdays or holidays also makes for a great personal touch. Of course, nothing beats face-to-face contact. Stopping by to say hello can be a great way to keep in contact. An even better way to catch up and maintain that friendship is to set up a lunch or coffee date with past clients. Giving individual clients your undivided attention goes a long way towards maintaining that bond you formed during the transaction and earning your client’s loyalty and trust. Interactions like this make a lasting impression on your clients. Of course, many busy REALTORS® may not have time to follow up with every client oneon-one. A great way to still give personal attention to your clients without meeting each and every one for lunch is to throw a client appreciation party. This allows you to get in some face-to-face time with each client and make sure they all get your undivided attention and quality time to catch up with you, even if it’s only for a short time. Now, if you have a lot of past clients, this can be difficult to manage during one party. One way to get around the numbers problem is to organize smaller events based on client’s inter-
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ests. Instead of throwing one giant party, host a pool party for the families with kids or a wine and cheese get together for single clients. Hosting special events like these ones goes a long way towards keeping your contact with past clients more personalized and setting you apart from those businesses that simply send them a calendar once a year.
PROVIDE CLIENTS WITH USEFUL NEWS PROVIDE CLIENTS WITH USEFUL NEWS One way that many REALTORSÂŽ keep in touch with their clients is by sending them newsletters. This form of contact can be a double-edged sword. You want to make sure you provide them with useful information that reminds them of your value as a real estate professional. Otherwise your communication will amount to nothing more than spam, and clients will think of you less as a trusted friend and more as a nuisance salesperson. Clients react much more positively to communication containing information that is pertinent to their lives. Update your clients on what is going on in their local community and housing market. Demonstrate your knowledge about the community and the things that are important to your clients. Include information about local cultural events, community news, housing statistics, information on the mortgage market, home maintenance advice, home design tips, and anything else that your clients will find personally useful. Your clients will always be interested in value.
SEND CLIENTS MEMORABLE AND PERSONAL CARDS Sending your clients cards related to important events in their lives and letting them know that you remember those events and care will go a long way towards building and maintaining a close personal relationship with them. You want to make sure your cards stand out, though. Sending popular holiday cards can be a mistake, as they will most likely get lost amongst all of your clients other holiday cards and will be quickly forgotten. Instead send something more personal such as: HOME ANNIVERSARY CARDS: Send cards to each client on the anniversary of the closing of their home.
CONGRATULATORY CARDS: Remember important events such as wedding anniversaries, graduations, new babies, etc.
SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CARDS: Instead of just sending your typical birthday card, add something special to yours that will stand out. Include a $1 scratch off ticket or a $5 gift certificate to Starbucks. Make sure to include a handwritten personal note. Top Agent Magazine
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GIVE CLIENTS AN UNUSUAL GIFT Make sure the gifts you send your past clients stand out. Send your past clients an odd gift at the beginning of the year or on a holiday. Think outside the box and send things like funny magnets, customized mugs, a personalized piece of wall décor, and other fun and unusual items. A great way to make your gift stand out even more is to include a funny note with it that will catch their attention as well as make them think of you. For example, one cute idea is to send clients a bag of popcorn with the note, “Real estate is popping, give me a call.” You could send a bag of goldfish with a note attached that says, “I’m fishing for your referrals.” Get creative and have a little fun with it, your clients will notice and remember you for it.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS
Social networking sites make staying in contact with past clients in a more informal and friendly basis much easier. Connect with your past clients on Facebook. This will help you stay up to date on the important things happening in your pact clients’ lives. In return, it provides you a great platform for keeping those past clients up to date with what is going on in your business as well as keep in contact in a more informal manner. Use Facebook to remind past clients to check their basement after a heavy rain or that they can contact you for help during tax time. 16
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You can even organize your contacts on Facebook into customized lists such as “past clients,” “industry contacts,” etc. This will help you better manage your Facebook contacts. This will also allow you to view specific news feeds based on these lists and send messages to a particular list of contacts. Don’t forget about the many other social networking sites such as Twitter or LinkedIn either. Utilize this technology to drive personal contact with your clients.
STAY ORGANIZED
No matter how you choose to keep in contact with past clients, make sure to be consistent. Consistency will help you stay organized and diligent about reaching out to your past clients regularly. A tool used by many real estate professionals to stay organized is a customer relationship management solution. Whether you use one that is online or a computer software program, this will help you stay organized when managing your contacts and allow you to set notifications to alert you when you need to contact certain clients, send out gifts, plan a client appreciation event, and many other things throughout the year. Staying organized and consistent in your contact with past clients will help you continue to build and manage your referral base, as well as open the door to repeat and referral business. Top Agent Magazine
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Things I Have Learned at the Gym by Barry Eisen
Within the macrocosm of life there are pockets of microcosms that reflect the bigger picture. Sometimes the bigger picture gets a little too fuzzy or ambiguous to grasp or be motivated by or to learn from. What we can learn from a moment’s contemplation of some of the more familiar areas of our lives can have value in figuring out the bigger picture.
with a positive anticipation allows the memory to work better and to perform at higher levels.
Gym: When someone is using a mirror for focus or to see their posture, have the courtesy to not walk in between them and the mirror and break the train of thought. Life: Like some of you, I have been a “gym When someone in the office is “on a rat” my entire life. Going to the gym roll” or a friend has created a great at least five days per week whether relationship, be supportive or at I’m in L.A. or out of town is simply least get out of the way and shut up. what I do. Here are some observations I’ve made. Even if you don’t exercise Gym: (What?!), see if these work for you: Use a towel to clean the bench after you have left your sweat on it. It’s Gym: your responsibility. Mental Preparation—Have a better Life: attitude before you begin and you will When you make a mistake, apologize. have a better workout. Endorphins It’s the right thing to do. make the miles go faster and the weights lighter. Gym: Life: Re-rack your weights when you are Mental Preparation—Going into a done with them. Don’t leave your selling presentation or a college test mess for someone else. Top Agent Magazine
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Life: When you make a mess, clean it up. Why should someone else have to see or deal with it? It’s your job. Gym: Neuroscientists have discovered that when you focus on the muscle being used, there is an increase of 20%+ more circulation going to that muscle to grow and tone it. Life: When you stay on task (focus on that activity being done—not multitask) you get more done efficiently and need to apologize less. Gym: Keep the loud grunting sounds to a minimum. Life: Keep the loud grunting sounds to a minimum. 20
Gym: Spot the person who asks for help. That doesn’t mean lift the weight for them. It means let them exert themselves to their maximum and add your vocal and physical support to allow them to grow. Life: Show the way if you know it, but let the discovery, wonder and growth be experienced by the other-for everyone’s sake. Gym: Read the body language of the other person. Get a sense of whether he or she is moving quickly and is time constrained and less conversation would be appropriate. Be attentive to the whole picture. Life: Read the body language of the other Top Agent Magazine
“Pay your dues and get your money’s worth.” person. Because more communication is non-verbal than spoken, add your senses and instincts to see, hear and feel an experience or encounter. This is not to say make assumptions, but rather, to prompt you to ask a clarifying question if you find a difference between the words you hear and the message you feel. Gym: At the time you are experiencing the greatest muscle exhaustion, you are gaining the greatest results. Stay with it a little longer. You’ll lift and do more, easier, the next time. Life: When you’re frustrated and feel you are at the end of your patience or abilities, stick with it a little longer, look “outside the box” for other options. That’s where the greatest lifeskills are grown. You’ll handle things more easily without feeling the stress the next time. Gym: Vary your workout routine every 4-6 weeks by using barbells, dumbbells and machines to keep up mental interest and to develop greater Top Agent Magazine
strength by stimulating muscles from different angles. Set goals of accomplishment. Life: Plan to periodically learn something new, go someplace interesting or set goals that are bigger than your present abilities to create an interesting life and to force your own personal growth. Take a risk once in a while. Interesting people do interesting things and are generally more fun to be around. Gym: Pay your dues and get your money’s worth. Life: Show up, pay attention, take positive action every time. Gym: Take a shower! Life: Take a shower! Barry Eisen teaches personal development seminars and coaches Southern California top producing REALTORS®. “Your business will never grow more than you do” is the theme; self hypnosis and behavior modification are the tools for playing a bigger game. barryeisen.com, barryeisen@LA.twcbc.com 818-769-4300 21
Every Player is Valuable: How to Boost Your Team’s Morale In the fast-paced world of real estate, it can be easy to overlook the contributions of those lower-level employees who are instrumental in our success, yet are overlooked when it comes to recognizing the important roles they play in keeping our business operating smoothly. Even a task that seems simple, such as answering phones, can be overwhelming at 22
times. Letting these employees know that they are appreciated is something that often goes overlooked at busier companies, and can often result in impaired morale overall, as employee dissatisfaction tends to be contagious. Here are some things that you can do to increase morale and productivity in your workplace: Top Agent Magazine
While it’s important to point out when an employee is doing something wrong, it is equally – if not more – important to acknowledge when that employee is doing something right.
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While it’s important to point out when an employee is doing something wrong, and sometimes to reprimand, it is equally – if not more – important to acknowledge when that employee is doing something right. Even a simple compliment can go a long, long way towards building that employee’s morale, and therefore their willingness to go the extra mile for your team. An example: “Sally, I just heard you on the phone with that client. You sounded very professional and I really appreciate your representing our business that way.”
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Determine what all of your employee’s goals are, and what their expectations for growth might be. There may be lower level employees who are perfectly content doing what they’re doing, and who have absolutely no expectations for growth in your business. Others, however, may have an interest in moving up the ladder. Make it your business to determine this early on, and try to take a personal interest in your employee’s growth with your company. Knowing there is room to grow is an important factor in employee satisfaction, and knowing who wants to grow and who
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doesn’t is something you should be aware of. Groom from within, and your employees will be grateful and work harder.
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If your workplace is highly stratified, with multiple levels of employees (agents, senior agents, loan processers, assistants, etc.,) make an effort to ensure that everyone feels valued as part of the team regardless of what they earn. Various team building exercises that encourage trust and a sense of familiarity can go a long way towards fostering an environment that is less unnecessarily competitive and more productive and cooperative. A quick web search for “Trust Building Exercises” will help you locate many good ways to achieve a newfound level of camaraderie amongst your team. Many of them are quite a bit of fun, too. Hopefully these tips will assist you in creating a better-functioning, higher-achieving team of motivated, caring employees. Remember, a chain is only as strong as the weakest link, so be sure to keep everyone feeling appreciated, supported and valued, and your company will only benefit. 23
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